VRTrickster 0 Posted May 5, 2008 Right,Im going to take the rado off the road this weekend, to give the rear axle a total refurbishment! Im thinking of doing the solid brake lines myself, along with everything else of course! Just wondering who has done this before and where they got their pipe, tools etc? And also whether it was a complete nightmare, or fairly straight forward? Any tips on carrying out this job would be great! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jon_vr6 1 Posted May 5, 2008 Ive done the front brake lines mate they were easy enough to do just make sure you have an extra pair of hands. I saw some decent kits off ebay with the pipe bender etc not sure if it will be long enough pipe though. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VRTrickster 0 Posted May 5, 2008 Ive done the front brake lines mate they were easy enough to do just make sure you have an extra pair of hands. I saw some decent kits off ebay with the pipe bender etc not sure if it will be long enough pipe though. Ill perhaps get one of those sets and some extra pipe then. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dub20vt 0 Posted May 8, 2008 make sure you have access to a decent pipe flaring tool as the only use for the vast majority of the cheaper ones is a paperweight. the last thing you want in you brake system is dodgy joins between pipes! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim 2 Posted May 8, 2008 I think we've used a Draper brake pipe flaring kit and it did the job just fine. I've actually made up all the pipes for about 2 Corrado's now and done a reasonable enough job of it.. and if I can do it, anyone can. Just be sure to make nice smooth curves / bends in the copper pipe, and be careful not to 'pinch' it. It's actually quite therapeutic sitting there making brake lines :) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VRTrickster 0 Posted May 8, 2008 Cheers, my dad reckons he's got a descent flaring tool at work I can use, which is good! Is there any way of shutting off the rear brake line at any point, while I remove the axle and that? Im I right in thinking Im only going to need male unions for refurbishing the rear axle solid lines? Its 3/16 pipe with 10mm thread unions? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
plateletboy 0 Posted May 12, 2008 My top tips would be: to use a blanking plug (cut down bolt with PTFE if you don't have any..??) on the rear pipes coming out of the 'distribution block thingy' just below the ABS pump, which gives you all the time in the word to sort the rear out...... and secondly to use the old pipes as a template to fashion the new ones - use lots of tie wraps to hold the 2 of them together at bends, etc, which really helps keep the new pipe your making up in the same 'plane' as the old one. doing it this way you can almost get the hand bent one identical to the old one.... pb Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lilfuzzer 1 Posted May 12, 2008 I think we've used a Draper brake pipe flaring kit and it did the job just fine. I've actually made up all the pipes for about 2 Corrado's now and done a reasonable enough job of it.. and if I can do it, anyone can. Just be sure to make nice smooth curves / bends in the copper pipe, and be careful not to 'pinch' it. It's actually quite therapeutic sitting there making brake lines :) Defo with you on that one jim, after a hard grafting job nice to just sit and flare pipe! Found best to do a couple of trial ones firstto make sure I was doing it right Defo worth a try I enjoy doing all mine, used a really old tool given to me from my dad, pretty heavy thing made by sykes-pickavant ltd No. 230 need a vice with it, but managed to do one on my mates caddy will on the car. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VRTrickster 0 Posted May 15, 2008 Ive got the flaring tool my dad gave me and its like the one you describe, big, heavy, and needs to go in a vice. I also found a bending tool. I picked up my brake pipe last weekend, 25 feet of it, which should be plenty! Im going to get some unions from Camberley Auto Factors before next weekend, when I intend on getting the rado back on the road! What do you use to cut the pipe with, and clean the burs? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aclwalker 3 Posted June 3, 2008 Right,Im going to take the rado off the road this weekend, to give the rear axle a total refurbishment! Im thinking of doing the solid brake lines myself, along with everything else of course! Just wondering who has done this before and where they got their pipe, tools etc? And also whether it was a complete nightmare, or fairly straight forward? Any tips on carrying out this job would be great! This might be too late, but here's some tips from me: http://www.the-corrado.net/.archive/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=69189#p803672 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites